Of Phasers and Sabers

My enforced vacation from work brings some good news: some personal projects have moved much farther forward in the last month. I finally repaired Thunderchild, made progress on a video project, reorganized bookshelves in the bedroom and living room, and now I’ve finished a pair of games sitting in my collection since 2004: “Star Trek: Elite Force 2” and “Star Wars: Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast”. (Yeah, I really burn through the games, huh? This is why, despite my love for a good computer game, I don’t buy them very often.)

Star Trek: Elite Force 2

“Elite Force 2” is the second game where you take on the role of leader of Voyager‘s Hazard Team, a group of highly-trained survival and combat specialists. I love this concept in Trek, as it suggests that Starfleet knows you need folks like these sometimes, without suggesting that the fleet has an entire militaristic arm waiting for warfare. Had the idea existed when I was on Pathfinder or Yeager, I’d have lobbied for this to be added to our roleplay.

Unfortunately, while the game is prettier than the previous one, and contains more play time, the writing is weak compared to the first game. “Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force” had a script and plot superior to many televised episodes of Voyager (faint praise, eh?), but this sequel consists mainly of grinding one’s way through waves and waves of “Alien” clones. I was particularly offended by the redemption of an alien scientist who causes the gruesome deaths of thousands (including many of your crewmates and often almost you) through vain dreams of power and the affection of a girl, but eventually says he’s sorry and all is forgiven. Ever notice how, in post-DS9 Trek, the heroes are always punished for poor choices or bad luck, but the antagonists generally aren’t?

Star Wars: Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast

The Dark Forces franchise has held up a little better. While Mac users had to skip the second game in the series due to a lack of interest in a port, both “Dark Forces” and “Jedi Outcast” take the player back to the days of “A New Hope” and “Empire” far better than anything George Lucas has written in the last decade. The developers produce expert recreations of both specific locations and places hinted at by the movies, the sound effects and music cues immediately evoke the original experience, and even the short romance subplot in the more recent game is handled far better than the prequel movies do. I won’t lie – I found “Outcast” to be quite difficult, but worth my patience.

Instead of space bugs, you’ll face Stormtroopers of the Imperial Remnant left over after the death of Emperor Palpatine. A fallen Jedi has tired of the Light Side, and has allied with the Remnant to produce – well, let’s just say you’ll need to learn those lightsaber skills. Much fun.

Now, I need only finish “No One Lives Forever” and “Tron 2.0”. Probably won’t be soon, because I do have several more interesting things on my plate than shooter games…

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8 Comments

  • c4bl3fl4m3 says:

    Thanks so much for the review! I really enjoyed Elite Force back in the day and even wished I knew more people who played it so that we could have played the Holomatch together. Hmm… maybe I should put it on my sweetie’s XP laptop…

  • c4bl3fl4m3 says:

    Thanks so much for the review! I really enjoyed Elite Force back in the day and even wished I knew more people who played it so that we could have played the Holomatch together. Hmm… maybe I should put it on my sweetie’s XP laptop…

  • c4bl3fl4m3 says:

    Thanks so much for the review! I really enjoyed Elite Force back in the day and even wished I knew more people who played it so that we could have played the Holomatch together. Hmm… maybe I should put it on my sweetie’s XP laptop…

  • c4bl3fl4m3 says:

    Thanks so much for the review! I really enjoyed Elite Force back in the day and even wished I knew more people who played it so that we could have played the Holomatch together. Hmm… maybe I should put it on my sweetie’s XP laptop…

  • c4bl3fl4m3 says:

    Thanks so much for the review! I really enjoyed Elite Force back in the day and even wished I knew more people who played it so that we could have played the Holomatch together. Hmm… maybe I should put it on my sweetie’s XP laptop…

  • c4bl3fl4m3 says:

    Thanks so much for the review! I really enjoyed Elite Force back in the day and even wished I knew more people who played it so that we could have played the Holomatch together. Hmm… maybe I should put it on my sweetie’s XP laptop…

  • c4bl3fl4m3 says:

    Thanks so much for the review! I really enjoyed Elite Force back in the day and even wished I knew more people who played it so that we could have played the Holomatch together. Hmm… maybe I should put it on my sweetie’s XP laptop…

  • c4bl3fl4m3 says:

    Thanks so much for the review! I really enjoyed Elite Force back in the day and even wished I knew more people who played it so that we could have played the Holomatch together. Hmm… maybe I should put it on my sweetie’s XP laptop…

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